Letters: Noise from SnowGlobe is too much

The following is a "Letter to the Editor" received by South Tahoe Now:

This isn’t easy to talk about. The backlash has been very hurtful and without compassion. I’m not against SnowGlobe, but the idea of having several festivals a year as things are now, is just not something I can endure.

Thirty plus years ago I had a bike accident and have dealt with nerve pain and migraines ever since. There are times when the pain is so severe, I wonder if it will ever end. It’s a really hopeless feeling. Sometimes I can’t even lie down and put my head on a pillow because the pain is so intense—even though sleep is what I need most. This doesn’t happen as often anymore because I’ve figured out what I need to do to avoid it. What I depend on most is my home. It’s my sanctuary—the place I can go to hit the reset button when I feel the pain coming on. SnowGlobe takes that sanctuary away from me and actually sets off the chain of events that lead to severe pain.

It’s the cacophony of disembodied bass sounds that does it. First they enter my home through its structure and then invade my body through my feet and chest—buzzing and booming relentlessly. I can deal with it okay for the first couple hours, but then my heart starts beating faster and faster and the muscles in my shoulders and neck feel like they’re in a vice. I do all the things that would normally help, but at some point I become exhausted and begin to lose the battle. Nine plus hours a day for three days is just too much. Inflammation begins, nerves are on fire…and then the migraine sets in. I’m in my own private hell. Nothing can take the pain away at that point and it doesn’t end when SnowGlobe ends. The damage takes a couple weeks to repair. This impacts my business as a freelance designer during what is always a busy time for me. My brain just can’t function optimally with that much pain and distraction–especially when troubleshooting code or strategizing for a client.

Sometimes, the festival quietens for a little while and there’s a respite, but that booming, thumping, and buzzing always comes back with a vengeance. If it can get quieter like that for a couple hours, why not for the entire time? I’ve reached out to SnowGlobe and offered to help figure this out, but there was no response. The City has offered me tickets to SnowGlobe and suggested I rent my house out during the festival. But we live in the real world. I have a business to run and my husband has a job. Time off in the tourist industry during the holidays is just not something we can count on—especially if we start having multiple festivals a year.

Love you Tahoe. Now let’s fix this.

—Kristen Schwartz